A weapon of catastrophic destruction. A nation on the brink of unspeakable disaster. And the ultimate enemy lies closer to home than anyone realizes.

Only maverick CIA agent Ryan Kealey sees the threat for what it really is--but Washington refused to listen. With the lives of millions at stake, Kealey has only one option: to take matters into his owNew York Times Bestseller

A weapon of catastrophic destruction. A nation on the brink of unspeakable disaster. And the ultimate enemy lies closer to home than anyone realizes.

Only maverick CIA agent Ryan Kealey sees the threat for what it really is--but Washington refused to listen. With the lives of millions at stake, Kealey has only one option: to take matters into his own hands. And the clock is ticking. . .

Supercharged and fiercely intelligent, The Assassin is an action-packed international thriller where no one can be trusted--and the final aftershocks are felt until the very last page.

Praise For Andrew Britton'sThe American

"Brilliantly well-written with plotting sharper than a fence full of razor wire, a sizzling page-turner. . .even Washington insiders will be reading this thriller not once, but twice!" --Brad Thor, USA Today bestselling author of Blowback and Takedown

"A terrifying and gripping journey into the mind of a terrorist." --Stephen Frey, New York Times bestselling author of The Chairman

Community Reviews

Good, but not as good as the first, third or fourth. The first book draws us into Kealey's personality. The second, with another female love interest, perhaps came too soon after the first one, and having villain Vanderveen targeting another female close to Ryan Kealey loses its punch. If there had been an intervening book, this one might have had more of an impact. Also, it reflects negatively on readers that the female baddie plays so small a part--nevertheless, her history as presented in booGood, but not as good as the first, third or fourth. The first book draws us into Kealey's personality. The second, with another female love interest, perhaps came too soon after the first one, and having villain Vanderveen targeting another female close to Ryan Kealey loses its punch. If there had been an intervening book, this one might have had more of an impact. Also, it reflects negatively on readers that the female baddie plays so small a part--nevertheless, her history as presented in book 2 (this one) rankles readers who may have read the books out of order, in that it is entirely different than the history of that creeps up in the recent book in which she is a very major player. A reader who followed the chronology might not have noticed, but I just finished The Operative,so the oversight was glaring. Overall I do like the series and will read the current WIP, but it will not be first on my list....more

The United Nations is slated to be ground zero for the next major terrorist attempt on American soil. Or is it? There is conflicting intelligence coming from an Iranian FBI source that does not coincide with the information gathered by Special Forces in Iraq, and beneath the surface is a cunning enemy that was presumed dead. For Ryan Kealey, the threat is not confined to a faceless enemy abroad. Someone in his own agency wants him put out of action.

For me the plot hovered between a 3.5 and a 4.The United Nations is slated to be ground zero for the next major terrorist attempt on American soil. Or is it? There is conflicting intelligence coming from an Iranian FBI source that does not coincide with the information gathered by Special Forces in Iraq, and beneath the surface is a cunning enemy that was presumed dead. For Ryan Kealey, the threat is not confined to a faceless enemy abroad. Someone in his own agency wants him put out of action.

For me the plot hovered between a 3.5 and a 4. After the adrenaline of The American I picked up the second book fully prepared to get back on a roller coaster. Alas, you have to slog through several chapters of careful planning to start getting into the meat of the plot. It's not enough to discourage you from finishing, but it comes dangerously close.

If you've read Tom Clancy, you'll be disappointed with the deception and denial element. It's not fully developed, but then, after a thousand pages Clancy had better fully develop the damn thing, right? Britton does not deliver the massive tomes Clancy did, but he succeeds at weaving an intricate plot just tight enough to make you want to turn one page, then another, and son of a gun before you know it you're ascending to the climax that makes your time investment worth it.

Yes, you must read The American to fully appreciate this second installment. If you read them out of sequence, the characters run the risk of feeling flat and two-dimensional. I think Britton struggled with this one, but as most Britton readers can attest, the author is sufficiently good to keep you coming back for one more round.

Again, the Ryan Kealey series is a natural fit for anyone who enjoyed reading Mitch Rapp's adventures. Maybe, just maybe, this series is a little better....more

Read the first in the series a long time ago. This would did not grab me nearly as much as the first. Perhaps it's because it is based so much on current events that are not quite so current anymore. Perhaps it's because of the overreliance on technical detail that seems unnecessary especially in the first half of the book, which moves extremely slowly. Perhaps it's because of the many errors in details, such as the description of using I95 to get from the Canadian border through upstate NY (lasRead the first in the series a long time ago. This would did not grab me nearly as much as the first. Perhaps it's because it is based so much on current events that are not quite so current anymore. Perhaps it's because of the overreliance on technical detail that seems unnecessary especially in the first half of the book, which moves extremely slowly. Perhaps it's because of the many errors in details, such as the description of using I95 to get from the Canadian border through upstate NY (last I checked, that was I90, not I95). The final 150 pages do move quickly and are quite enjoyable. I'll keep reading if only for the fact that the subsequent manuscripts are published posthumously after Britton's unfortunate early death at the too young age of 27. This certainly provides an interesting perspective on how the later manuscripts may have been updated to continue to keep up with current events. ...more

Assassin by Andrew Britton is larger than your average thriller weighing in at 623 pages in the Michael Joseph/Penguin Books trade paperback edition.

Despite the seemingly large length once the story gets going it's a quick read, unfortunately, it's the start which leaves you wondering whether to continue reading or cut your losses and toss the book.

After about 150-200 pages the story ratchets up, you become more familiar with the cast of characters in your head and things start flowing, good aAssassin by Andrew Britton is larger than your average thriller weighing in at 623 pages in the Michael Joseph/Penguin Books trade paperback edition.

Despite the seemingly large length once the story gets going it's a quick read, unfortunately, it's the start which leaves you wondering whether to continue reading or cut your losses and toss the book.

After about 150-200 pages the story ratchets up, you become more familiar with the cast of characters in your head and things start flowing, good action, well place scene cuts etc.

If the start was better it'ld be a 5/5 but it's let down badly by its poor opening....more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.2.5 stars. [And lots of spoilers.]

The character arcs become a little more apparent as they build from the first novel. Not bad follow-up, but I would have saved the main bad guy for book 3. But once Vanderveen was in the story, it was good that he was out by the end of the book. It was getting nearly to the point of one-too-many escapes that just couldn't be justified when our Big Bad has such depth and breadth in his evil training.

Being picky, I found the gag with the chapter headings mentionin2.5 stars. [And lots of spoilers.]

The character arcs become a little more apparent as they build from the first novel. Not bad follow-up, but I would have saved the main bad guy for book 3. But once Vanderveen was in the story, it was good that he was out by the end of the book. It was getting nearly to the point of one-too-many escapes that just couldn't be justified when our Big Bad has such depth and breadth in his evil training.

Being picky, I found the gag with the chapter headings mentioning the location to be a bit of a bother when the chapter break occurred mid-scene* and also when the location didn't change for numerous chapters.

Not sure what to think about the surprises in the twist ending, but as a reading completist, I'll pick up the next book to find out what happens. It seemed like our lady assassin should have gone after Harper much sooner after the aftermath of the failed bomb in NYC**. Not sure why she didn't simply go take care of the unfinished business the next day or even week, because I think that was supposed to be at least a month later. Oh yeah, and the secret daughter of Saddam Hussein who is pregnant with the conceived-in-violent-sex child of the dead assassin...all that really should drop the book to 2 stars. Guess I'm feeling generous.

Usually not a fan of this type of stories or movies, especially since I am not familiar with weapons (which is referred to a lot in this book); but I fell into the story hard and found I couldn't put it down.

This book rebounded nicely for me. It started out a bit confusing; I couldn't seem to keep the characters straight in my head with all of the different Arabic names, but it all sorted itself out. The story was good and engaging and I enjoyed it throughout. As often, a complaint I have with this book is the obvious staging by the author to facilitate a sequel, or a continuance of the series. To my way of thinking, write a great book and let it stand on it's merits. Don't write a book and treat itThis book rebounded nicely for me. It started out a bit confusing; I couldn't seem to keep the characters straight in my head with all of the different Arabic names, but it all sorted itself out. The story was good and engaging and I enjoyed it throughout. As often, a complaint I have with this book is the obvious staging by the author to facilitate a sequel, or a continuance of the series. To my way of thinking, write a great book and let it stand on it's merits. Don't write a book and treat it as a chapter in a larger story.

More detail than is my style, but Britton builds on a character you love to hate.The chillingly brutal Vanderveen's chink in his mental armor is his obsession with crushing Ryan Kealey. At the same time, occasional rays of humanity escape from Vanderveen and for the briefest of moments, you wish him well and realize the author has almost turned you. Time and again, the reader is brought to the edge as the plot leaps across continents, enmeshing you in the no-holds-barred politics of the Middle EMore detail than is my style, but Britton builds on a character you love to hate.The chillingly brutal Vanderveen's chink in his mental armor is his obsession with crushing Ryan Kealey. At the same time, occasional rays of humanity escape from Vanderveen and for the briefest of moments, you wish him well and realize the author has almost turned you. Time and again, the reader is brought to the edge as the plot leaps across continents, enmeshing you in the no-holds-barred politics of the Middle East....more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.I enjoyed this book even though it got a bit complicated at times with the Middle Eastern places and names that I'm unfamiliar with. There was a lot of action, especially at the end as the story climaxed. Given that it is part of a series, the book's main character obviously made it out relatively unscathed and I enjoyed the organic path that his relationship took with the female lead. The characters were interesting and I would definitely read more books by this author. I give it a C++.

I enjoyed this sequel to the American. Ryan Kealy, ex CIA officer and broken hearted lover, finally hunts down the ultimate bad guy with the help of the somewhat naive but very resourceful, Naomi. For his efforts he receives the thanks of a grateful nation, gets his boss out of some serious hot water, and generally sets things right. There's a good mix of politics and action with Kealy facing pretty insurmountable odds but persevering in the end. I love the genre and this one satisfied me.

The second Ryan Kealey book deals with another assassination plot by James March a/k/a William Vanderveen Kealey’s arch nemesis. The FBI believes that the assassination are the work of Iranians seeking to destabilize Iraq while Kealey and Naomi Kharmai believe that it is the work of Iraqi insurgents. They travel all over the world being under fire and in danger all the way as they seek to stop another terrorist attack.

Ryan Kealey is back and this time he is more rogue than ever. His losses in the first installment of this series make him even more of a risk taker in this book. The only problem with this book is that at times it feels like it is about one hundred pages too long. Don't get me wrong, I love the story and the characters and development. However, at times it feels as if it is dragging by.

Rated 3 1/2 stars. I found the first half of this book to be a struggle as it seemed fragmented, hard to really get into and somewhat of a rehash of the first book. After that it sped up and became a decent read albeit drawn out. Overall it left enough interest to continue reading the series after taking a break for other reading and then come back to book three.

Britton's Ryan Kealey, another hero along the lines of Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp, Brad Thor's Scot Harvath and Alex Berenson's John Wells confronts his arch-enemy who desires the destruction of the good ol' US of A...Fun read though I'm saddened by the fact the Britton's passing at such a young age will deprive us of a story lines in the genre

A great military thriller. At 500 pages this book was much longer than other books I read but I didn't mind it once I was caught in the plot. I liked how three of four different stories were woven together over time to reveal the ending, which of course leaves you hanging for the next novel in the series. I will definitely read it.

I liked Britton's first book, "The American", better than this one only because this seemed to be too much like the first one for the first 300 or so pages. It did improve in uniqueness from there until the end, however, and I did enjoy the read. Looking forward to his next book...

I didn't enjoy this book. The scene setting portion of the story was slow and labourious. Over half way through the story begins to heat up but even then the action is lacking and suspense is limited. No finesse. I won't be picking up a book by this author again.

The plot lines and pacing of this novel are tight and fast and make for an enjoyable experience. The character development is good to great, as is plot development. This adds to the overall suspense right through to the end of the novel.

Almost as good as the first one. The ending dragged a little bit but it was a really good read. I almost- ALMOST felt a smidgen of liking for Kohl and than had it all vanish rather quickly. Great read.

During his early childhood, Andrew Britton lived between England and Camlough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, until the family emigrated to the United States in 1988 at age seven. Britton spent years in both Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Raleigh, North Carolina. After graduating from Leesville Road High School in Raleigh in 1999, Britton joined the U.S. Army as a combat engineer. He stayed in theDuring his early childhood, Andrew Britton lived between England and Camlough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, until the family emigrated to the United States in 1988 at age seven. Britton spent years in both Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Raleigh, North Carolina. After graduating from Leesville Road High School in Raleigh in 1999, Britton joined the U.S. Army as a combat engineer. He stayed in the Army for three years and served in Korea.

After his military service, Britton attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied economics and psychology.

He published his first novel at age 23.

Britton died at the age of 27 of an undiagnosed heart condition in Durham, North Carolina....more